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When their emotions are kept neutral, divorced parents are better able to communicate concerning their children's needs. To minimize the negative effects of divorce, children should never be used as messengers between their parents or as sounding boards to vent parental frustration.

An additional tip to co-parenting with an ex-spouse is to take advantage of the other parent's strengths. In other words, view yourselves as a team that works together to do what is best for the children. Where one is lacking, the other may fulfill the need.

It is crucial that divorced parents be willing to compromise. Holidays, vacations, extracurricular activities and food and clothing choices are all potential areas for disagreement. Discussing and compromising on such issues will help to ensure that decisions are in the children's best interests.

Releasing the need for control plays a huge role in successful co-parenting. If the focus is on the children and not on the power struggle between ex-spouses, resolutions will be quickly reached.

Keeping issues private is important to conflict-free co-parenting. Disagreements should be settled only between involved parental units. Friends and family members should not be privy to this information because it is more likely that they will take sides and stir up negative emotions.